Kyoukai Senki: Kyokkou no Souki

Kyoukai Senki: Kyokkou no Souki is a short series (around 7 minutes per episode x 6 episodes, not counting the OP and ED sequences) and a good addition to the original Kyoukai Senki. It's a side story, set in the KS universe with all new characters. Solid animation, a good score, and a decent story carry this mini-series, which deals with attempts by the North American military to oust a small force of Oceania-aligned Japanese rebels from an island they are fighting to protect.

Chinen Ibuki is our main character, a young man grappling with survivor guilt over his first real encounter with the ... enemy in a one-sided engagement that left all of his friends and acquaintances dead. His introduction to Misawa Jin, an experienced AMAIM pilot working to help the rebels, is a tense one, but eventually Misawa is instrumental in helping Chinen face his emotional demons. Grady Ellison, the commander of the NA forces, is a decent villain, a career soldier who has come to love battle and his quest for revenge more than he cares about his own subordinates. The story does a pretty good job of fleshing out these key characters given its short run time.

Of course, one valid criticism of the series is that it seems designed to sell AMAIM model kits, as we get an ad for them at the end of every episode. Still, the show stands on its own merits, whether or not its impetus was primarily commercial or artistic.

Watching the mini-series after watching Kyoukai Senki (season 1) helped me enjoy the mini-series more. as I already knew the context and history of the conflict and understood how the AMAIM mechs and AI characters worked within the story. But even those viewers watching the mini-series before the main series will get enough information about what's going on to understand the story and appreciate the action. And that information is delivered effectively and efficiently; the show isn't heavy on exposition. (It does a good job of "show, don't tell.")

Overall, Kyoukai Senki: Kyokkou no Souki is worth a watch, especially for those with an interest in mecha anime stories, and certainly if you have already watched and enjoyed Kyoukai Senki.